


A Matter of Strategy

by frozensea



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Arguing, Bad Puns, Banter, F/M, Fix-It, Hiding in Plain Sight, Padmé Amidala Lives, Post-Canon, there's more to life than survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:22:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23527597
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frozensea/pseuds/frozensea
Summary: "I finally came up with a plan to get you into my bed tonight.""You did?" He felt a little faint.
Relationships: Padmé Amidala/Obi-Wan Kenobi
Comments: 14
Kudos: 146
Collections: Party in the GFFA: Star Wars Flash Exchange 2020





	A Matter of Strategy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [K_Popsicle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/K_Popsicle/gifts).



"You cannot apply for a seat on the council."

Padmé leaned forward. Her shoulders were tense, a clear sign that she was running out of patience. "It's not a seat on the council, it's an assistant position for the senior advisor of the Chair of Arts and Culture."

"It's a government position. And that means public attention and scrutiny. We can't risk it Padmé. We're outsiders here. What if some enterprising journalist starts digging into our background? What if they realize that we're not Padmé and Ben, the friendly couple next door, but the former Senator of Naboo and the last Jedi knight who escaped the purge?"

Raising his hands in a placating gesture, Obi-Wan turned toward the window behind which Leia and Luke were playing catch with their neighbor's kids in the back yard, while Laina, their neighbor and sometime babysitter, was keeping an eye on them. His throat closed up at the thought of anything happening to them. He'd risked his life to keep Padmé and her children safe these last four years. 

Time worked in strange ways on people's minds, and even he, for all his caution, found himself slipping up and thinking that having escaped the Empire's notice for so long, it might be safe to let his guard down just a little, to allow himself to breathe, to live life without looking over his shoulder. But that sense of safety was treacherous. It was an illusion. They would never be safe. Their greatest asset was that Palpatine and Vader thought that Padmé and her children had died on Mustafar. As for himself, well, he had a prize on his head, and if it hadn't meant depriving Padmé, Leia, and Luke of the protection a Force user could offer, he would have never put them at risk with his presence.

"I know that living a life as simple as ours is chafing at you," he said. "You have spent most of your life either being a leader or training to be one-"

"Which is why it's really condescending of you to think I haven't thought this through," she interrupted him.

His mouth snapped shut. Unwilling to concede that he had barely allowed her to get through her announcement, he crossed his arms over his chest. He  _ did  _ slip onto the chair at the kitchen counter next to her, indicating that he would hear her out this time, but that was his only concession. He was too worried that any change in their daily routine would expose them.

Padmé lifted her chin in that stubborn way she had, a way that he admired if he was honest, though it did make negotiations difficult. Not only did she never let him forget that she had been a skilled and experienced politician, much to his consternation, but the townspeople had also caught on to the fact that she had one of the finest tactical minds he'd ever encountered and was a force to be reckoned with.

"It's not an election. It's just a promotion. There will be no extra scrutiny. And I'm already doing most of the work. The current advisor hired me with the expectation that I'd take over when she retired. She's involved me in all the major projects for the past year. At this point, it would draw more attention if I decline the position than if I accept it. And I made it clear that I am useless at public speaking."

Obi-Wan's eyebrows made a valiant effort to climb off his forehead. "And she believed that?"

"I told her I have a phobia and that I get panic attacks at the mere thought of being the center of attention." She affected a breathless voice and raised the back of her hand to her forehead while pretending to slip off her chair. 

Obi-Wan smiled despite his misgivings. "You will never be able to climb further up the ladder," he cautioned.

Padme shrugged, though he could see the fleeting shadow of sadness in her eyes. "I know that. But between this and the children, there will be more than enough work to keep me busy. I'm not trying to run for mayor or become a famous holostar. But I can't go on year after year, keeping my head down and looking over my shoulder every day. Being cautious can't mean that we just survive from one day to the next. I want more, both for myself and for our children. I want to build a life here."

The sentiment ran too close for comfort to his own thoughts. He shifted uneasily in his chair while he tried to find an argument that would make her reconsider.

"I can see you thinking," Padmé grumbled. "You're still going to try to talk me out of it." She sighed. "Stubborn man." 

There was too much affection in her voice for the words to sting.

"We need to think of your children," he started, but Padmé was already shaking her head.

"Don't use them against me. I  _ am  _ thinking of our children. If I weren't, I'd be on the front lines fighting the empire tooth and nail with every weapon and political alliance I could use to our advantage. I would start a rebellion with my own hands, Ben." Her fingers curled into fists, and it struck him how commanding, how  _ spellbinding _ , she was when she spoke not just with conviction, but passion.

"But I'm can't. I am needed here. But that doesn't mean that I will let Luke and Leia grow up in fear. I want them to have friends and a future full of possibilities, not restrictions. And part of that means taking charge of my own life."

He should say something. It would probably be a good idea to pick her argument apart and make her see reason right about now, but his mind was still stuck on her saying 'our children.' And she'd called him Ben, too. A funny, tingly feeling spread through his stomach. It wasn't quite comfortable, but then again, he couldn't say that it was uncomfortable either, it was just... warm and soft and...  _ not a good idea _ .

It didn't come as a surprise that the lines between fiction and reality had started to blur after four years of pretending to be husband and wife. Rather, it was a testament to their disciplined minds that it hadn't started to happen sooner, but he really should discourage...

"- which is why Leia and Luke are staying with the Garren's tonight," Padmé finished.

He blinked. "Come again?"

"They're staying with our neighbors."

"They can't."

"They're looking forward to it."

"But they've never slept anywhere but in their own beds. What if they get homesick? What if agents of the empire find us and we have to make a quick-"

"Ben." Padmè's tone was full of exasperation. "Our children will be fine."

"Don't- don't call them that. I'm not their father."

"You're the only father they've ever known," she said softly.

If he'd been standing upright, he would have staggered under the weight of her words. He'd been so careful to shutter his own treacherous emotions, it wasn't fair that Padmé could tear those barriers down with one sentence.

"We don't have that kind of relationship," he said faintly and cringed when he heard the regret in his voice.

Her smile was gentle. "Well, then. One more reason for Leia and Luke to sleep somewhere else tonight."

He froze. She couldn't possibly mean what he thought she meant. "What- what are you saying?"

"I finally came up with a plan to get you into my bed tonight."

"You did?" He felt a little faint. Padmè had never been less than forthright once she'd made up her mind, so it really shouldn't surprise him how boldly she stated her intentions to- what? seduce him?

_ Not much seduction necessary, _ he had to admit. A distant part of him, a part that had followed the teachings of the Jedi with the confidence of youth and the fervor of conviction reminded him of rules he should follow, and the dangers of attachments, but four years was a long time to live in such closer quarters and not fall for Padmé's brilliant mind, radiant smile, or ruthless practicality. 

Padmé's smile turned wolfish, and he felt an electric charge fizzle down his spine.

"No immediate objection? That's a better reaction than I expected." She slid off her chair and before he could gather his wits, he found his arms full of her as she settled in his lap. "Am I right to assume that I can skip the first round of negotiations?"

"The first-" he sputtered in indignation but quieted when she cupped his cheek, scratching her fingertips lightly through his beard. His eyelids fluttered closed. He couldn't remember the last time anyone had touched him like this. "Impossible woman," he muttered.

Her soft laugh swept over him, and he wanted to lean into her touch, wanted to lose himself in her embrace, but there was something nagging at the back of his mind, something important.

"Anakin," he blurted out, eyes snapping open. He really didn't want to talk about the Bantha in the room, but if he was truly going to throw all doubts aside, he needed to know that they were on the same page, that she wouldn't wake up one day with more regrets than she already had.

"There is no place for him here," Padmé said. 

Her gaze was open and honest, but she must have seen something in his eyes that prompted her to continue. 

"I tried to hold on to him as long as I could. I hoped that the love we felt for each other would balance whatever darkness lured him away from the light, but it didn't. It took a long time, but I have made my peace with that. Sometimes, all that's left to do is count your losses and move on. I want to move on, B- Obi-Wan. And after living with you for these past four years, knowing how different our relationship is from what I had with Anakin..."

"It's easier living together as friends," he said. "Intimacy only makes things more complicated." He had no idea why he'd said that. He actually tried to make his mouth shut up, but it proved frustratingly uncooperative.

"I think we can handle a few more complications," Padmè whispered against his lips just before she kissed him. And, really, who was he to argue with her?

Their first kiss was soft, almost hesitant, both unsure of the other's reaction, both balancing on a tightrope stretching between what had been and what might be. 

The second kiss had heat behind it. It shivered down his neck and pooled in his abdomen. It was a little embarrassing how fast and eager his cock reacted to the warm weight of her when she shifted her thighs, but it was another one of those things that shouldn't have surprised him. He'd only known the comfort of his own hand since he had completed his training, and in recent years, it had been Padmé face that had flashed before his eyes when he'd sought relief.

It was a sharp reminder of how far and how long ago he'd left the no-attachment rule behind. 

"Just out of curiosity," he ventured when they came up for air, "how many rounds of negotiations did you have planned for this seduction of mine?"

The corner of her mouth quirked up. "Five. with several contingencies, in case you needed to regroup and find a better counter-argument."

"Charming." He sank all the sarcasm he could muster into his tone, and yet it somehow still didn't feel quite enough. He honestly wasn't sure if he was more unarmoured than offended.

"I like to be prepared," she said with just a hint of smugness.

"And yet, you forgot to consider, that I might simply refuse to play the game altogether." Holding her tightly to him, he swept her up into his arms, eliciting a sharp cry of surprise from her. He cherished the sound. It wasn't often that he managed to catch her off-guard.

"What do you mean? Where are we going?"

"To the bedroom."

"So your idea of not playing the game is actually conceding victory?"

"I like to think of it as negotiating a mutually beneficial trade agreement."

Padmé laughed. "I do love it when you dig your heels in like that," she said and pressed an affectionate kiss to his temple.

"A minute ago you complained about my stubbornness."

"That's when it stood between me and what I wanted. Now, I have high hopes that it will work in my favor."

He groaned. "You can take the politician out of the senate, but-"

"-can't put the Jedi in the senator." Padmé finished for him, before laughing uproariously at his pained expression. "Though I guess you're about to make a convincing argument against that last part?"

"That was bad," he said biting back the laugh that rose in his throat.

"You love it."

"Really, really bad. I expected better from you."

"And yet, here we are." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively, and he finally lost his self-control. He was left with little choice but to toss her onto the bed as his shoulders shook.

"Impossible woman," he groused as he stretched out next to her and pulled her back into his arms.

"Stubborn man," she teased back and rolled on top of him.

As he tasted her on his lips he couldn't help but think that should this change in their relationship truly lead to complications it would be worth it.

And Padmé was right. They'd handle it. Together.


End file.
